Japanese American National Museum

The Japanese American National Museum, at 100 North Central Avenue in Little Tokyo, Los Angeles, California, was founded in 1985 and opened to the public in 1992 as the first museum in the United States dedicated to sharing the experience of Japanese Americans. Its main building is the former Nishi Hongwanji Buddhist Temple, built in 1925 and designed by architect Edgar Cline, a historic structure that was converted for museum use and later joined by the Tateuchi Democracy Forum and a pavilion designed by Gyo Obata. The museum's core exhibition, Common Ground: The Heart of Community, traces Japanese American history from the first immigrants of the 1880s through agricultural work, the creation of communities, and the forced removal and incarceration of about 120,000 people of Japanese ancestry during World War II under Executive Order 9066 of 1942. The museum holds a collection of more than 130,000 artifacts, photographs and documents, including items from the incarceration camps such as Heart Mountain, Manzanar and Topaz, and objects made by internees. Exhibits are largely thematic and immersive, mixing personal stories, objects and photographs, and a reconstructed barrack from Heart Mountain is a standout. The museum also presents rotating exhibitions, film programs, public events and oral-history work, and its education programs focus on civil rights and the lessons of the incarceration for current policy. The historic temple building is a Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument. The museum is a nonprofit and an affiliate of the Smithsonian Institution. It stands close to the Geffen Contemporary at MOCA, the Go For Broke monument and Little Tokyo's shops, restaurants and the Japanese Village Plaza, so many visitors build a half-day around the neighborhood.